North Korea Nuclear Threat News: US, South Korea War Games Start Monday; Pyongyang Warns of 'Catastrophe'
The United States and South Korea will undergo its annual war games beginning Monday, Aug. 21. Pyongyang, however, warns against the military drills.
North Korea's Central News Agency released a statement citing that if the joint exercises were to proceed then it would spell "catastrophe" for the region. The U.S. military, however, confirmed that the war games will go as planned despite North Korea's threats.
"The exercises are very important to maintaining the ability of the alliance to defend itself," U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford said. "As long as the threat in North Korea exists, we need to maintain a high state of readiness to respond to that threat."
Get Our Latest News for FREE
The news comes amid fears that the joint military exercises could ignite a new global war. It might push North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un to fire missiles aimed at Guam in the United States.
Kim's military has been conducting intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) tests since July with some success. South Korean President Moon Jae-in said that its neighbor is crossing the red line with these tests.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump assured Moon that his government will seek South Korea's advice before acting on North Korea's threats. The U.S. government is taking a diplomatic route in dealing with Kim.
As a result, Kim supposedly held off firing four more missile tests aimed at a military base in Guam. Trump confirmed this on his Twitter.
According to Stars and Stripes, this year's upcoming war games between the United States and South Korea will consist of 3,000 servicemen only. In the past, some 25,000 servicemen participated in the joint exercises, which included Britain, Australia, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, New Zealand and the Netherlands.
The war games are expected to be finished by Aug. 30.
